The Jungle of Nool
by DyanaRoseJill
Summary: The events of Seussical from the perspective of an ordinary resident of the jungle.
1. Biggest Blame Fool

"Biggest Blame Fool"

It was a hot day, like any other, and the best place to be was poolside. And Aribelle the Zebraffe had an excellent position, lounging on the springy moss, dangling a paw in the cool blue water. The trees over head provided just enough shade.  
At the moment, all was still, and she was just lounging, listening absently to the sounds of the birds.

Suddenly the pond rippled, and a second later, she felt the ground shake.  
She sighed. So much for a peaceful spot by the pool. Only an elephant would be making that much noise, and as a general rule, elephants didn't relax in the pool. No, they had to splash around and get everything all wet.  
She peered out through the leaves. It was an elephant alright, one Horton.

Horton was a quiet sort of elephant, always minded his own business.  
It was her job to know everything about everyone, and Aribelle automatically reviewed her notes mentally.  
But there was nothing interesting about Horton so she brushed her green hair out of her eyes and settled down.  
The elephant had also settled in the water with the anticipated amount of splashing.  
Aribelle sighed and shook water drops out of her striped fur. If it hadn't been so hot, she would've moved away. So she relaxed and half-watched Horton, for lack of anything better to do.

Suddenly, Horton opened his ears and stopped splashing. He looked around, gazing intently into the air.  
Well that was different. She moved a bit closer, watching.

"I say," Horton said to himself, "How confusing. I've never heard tell of a small speck of dust that was able to yell."  
She blinked. Horton was watching a speck of dust? Elephants weren't the brightest animals in the jungle, and Horton was a well known dreamer, but this was strange, even for him.  
Horton frowned thoughtfully and eased out of the pool, his ear poised, his eyes glued on the air.  
"So you know what I think..." Horton continued to himself, unaware that anyone was listening, "I think that there must be someone on top of that small speck of dust..."  
She brushed her hair back again and tilted her head. This was amusing, but if he was serious... Well, she couldn't have a crazy elephant running around her jungle.  
"Some poor little person who's shaking with fear that he'll blow in the pool, he had no way to steer." Horton gasped, "He's alone in the universe!" He squared his shoulders, "I'll just have to save him, because after all, a person's a person, no matter how small. A person's a person no matter how small."

Aribelle slipped out of her spot. If he was just pretending, she knew just the animal to snap him out of it.  
She found her Second-in-Command in the middle of a snack. She patted the baby on his head and then looked to his mother. The kangaroo was one of the loudest animals in the jungle of Nool.  
"Go see what's going on by the pool," she said to the kangaroo.  
"Is this an assignment?" the kangaroo asked with interest.  
"Might be," she replied, "A job for your special talents."  
"Shall I call in the boys?" the kangaroo asked.  
Aribelle considered and then nodded, "May as well, but hold them off unless you need them."  
"Alright," the kangaroo agreed.  
"And," Aribelle grinned, "I'm going to watch."  
The kangaroo laughed, "of course."

Aribelle slipped back to her spot by the pool, looking for Horton.  
He had transferred his attention to a clover, which he was cradling protectively.  
The kangaroo was out of his sight, watching Horton murmuring soothing things to the clover.

"Humpf!" humphed the Kangaroo as she walked out.  
And the young kangaroo in her pouch said "Humph!" too.  
Horton backed away, still holding the clover protectively.  
The kangaroo looked to the clover and sniffed. "Why that speck is as small as the head of a pin," the kangaroo laughed, "A person on that - why there never has been!"

Aribelle smiled slightly. Now this whole thing would be cleared up. Nobody who was imagining anything could resist the Sour Kangaroo's mocking. Now Horton would let her in on the game.

The Sour Kangaroo laughed, "You're the biggest blame fool in the jungle of Nool - and I don't care who I tell!"  
Horton took a step back.  
"Biggest blame fool!" the Kangaroo continued, "Just a fool, fool, fool!"  
Her little one peeked out his head, "And I think so as well!"  
The Kangaroo laughed again, "Maybe I'm nasty, maybe I'm cruel - but you're the biggest blame fool in the jungle of Nool!"

Horton frowned slightly. "It's true," he said to the kangaroo, "Please believe me, I tell you sincerely, my ears are quite keen and I heard it quite clearly. I know there's a person down there, and what's more, quite likely there's two, even three, even four!"  
The Kangaroo looked past Horton to where she was watching. She considered, and then nodded slightly. The Kangaroo nodded as well, a signal to her "reinforcements".

By now they had collected an audience. All of the other animals that had been taking advantage of the pool were watching with interest. Later, Aribelle would have to find out what the general opinion on all of this was, but for now, she pushed her green hair out of her eyes again and leaned forward in anticipation.

"Ha!" laughed a voice from up in the trees.  
"Ha!" laughed some others.

Aribelle swivelled her head about as she watched the Sour Kangaroo's "reinforcements" swing into the scene. The Wickersham brothers, a trio of monkeys. They were a group of troublemakers, but they were her favorite operatives, for more reasons than one. The leader of the group glanced over at Aribelle and gave her a wink.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" laughed the Wickersham brothers as they swung down, moving in on Horton.  
"Oh he's the biggest blame fool in the jungle of Nool, and monkeys like us should now," they chorused, "we've been out on a limb looking down on him..."  
"He's fat!"  
"He's dumb!"  
"He's slow!"  
The Wickershams laughed, "Elephants ain't too swift as a rule - but he's the biggest blame fool in the jungle of Nool!"

"Cuz he's talkin' to a speck, talkin' to a speck, talkin' to a speck of dust!" the sour kangaroo and the Wickershams circled around Horton.  
"Blame fool in the jungle of Nool!" one of the monkeys teased.  
The Sour Kangaroo laughed, "R. E. S. P. E. C. K." she called out, "Oh please - take that speck away!"

The birds were the usual gossipers of the forest and they were paying close attention to this, spreading the word from tree to tree.  
Through the jungle the news quickly flew - it even made the news on channel 2.

It was important for her to keep a low profile, so Aribelle had her assistants interview Horton's neighbors and friends, starting with a blue unimpressive looking little bird.

"I'm Gertrude McFuzz and I live right next door," the bird said, "he's never done anything crazy before... he's always been friendly and loyal and kind..." she shook her head, "I just can't believe Horton's out of his mind."

A brightly colored bird pushed her way over, wanting her turn in the spotlight.  
"I'm Mayzie La Bird and I live in that tree," she said, "Enough about Horton - let's talk about me!"

Well, that wasn't surprising considering what the records held about Mayzie.- the bird was vain and always wanted to be the center of attention, but that was all. Mayzie never did anything worth bothering about. Nothing like this business with Horton.

While the birds were being interviews, the Sour Kangaroo and the Wickersham brothers continued to taunt Horton:  
"Blame fool, he's just a fool - just a fool!"

And the ever helpful gossip chain continued to spread the story: "Talkin' to a speck - talkin' to a speck to a speck of dust!"

Horton shook his head, "I just have to save them," he said, "Because after all, a person's a person, no matter how small... a person's a person no matter how..."

The jungle animals closed in around him.  
"Biggest blame fool in the jungle of nool, he's the worst we ever saw!"  
Horton tried to protect the clover as the Wickershams shoved him around.  
"Tellin' lies."  
"Making jokes!"  
"It's an elephant hoax!"  
"And that's against the law!"

Aribelle glared at Horton, "Breaking the peace, creating a fuss..."  
"Someone's thinking different from us!" the Sour Kangaroo finished, earning nods of approval from the other animals.  
Horton backed away from the accusing jungle animals and fled into the jungle.

The damage was done. Gossip would take care of the next step. Aribelle settled back down again next to the pool to wait. Either it would get to Horton and he would abandon his game... or... Well, she had time to think about it.

But the Wickersham brothers weren't done with Horton yet.  
"Better look out - better look out!" they taunted, hanging from the trees and dangling just out of Horton's reach, "Or someone's gonna steal your clover!"

The little bird also watched Horton leave. "On the fifteenth of may, Miss Gertrude McFuzz discovered how truly unique Horton was..." She sighed, "But she knew to approach him would probably fail because," she sighed again, "Who'd notice a bird with a one feathered tail?"

Aribelle tilted her head, watching. She usually didn't concern herself with the love lives of the animals, it wasn't interesting enough, but it concerned Horton... this was interesting.

=========================

So I wrote this story back in 2005, and then posted it on my old angelfire site in 2008, and now, for posterity's sake, I'm posting it here in 2018.  
Back in 2005, I saw a friend of mine in Seussical, playing an assortment of ensemble roles, including a jungle creature. I imagined up a backstory for her character.


	2. Amazing Gertrude

"Amazing Gertrude"

The next day arrived, and it was just as hot as the day before. Horton hadn't created any fuss the night before, and Aribelle was beginning to think that that was the end of it. Today, she had found a comfortable tree branch to lounge in. She had almost fallen asleep when a bird song snapped her from her doze.

The little blue bird took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Love song for Horton," she said, "Number ... four hundred and thirty-seven."  
Aribelle blinked and sat up.

The little bird strummed her guitar and started to sing. "There once was a girl bird named Gertrude McFuzz, and she had the smallest plain tail ever was. One droopy-drop feather, that's all that she had, and oh that one feather made Gertrude so sad.  
She curled it, she dyed it, she gave it a puff. She decked it with flowers, but it wasn't enough.  
For no matter what, it just was what it was."  
Gertrude sighed, "A tail that simply wasn't meant to catch the eye of an elephant."  
She strummed her guitar again, "The one-feathered tail of Miss Gertrude McFuzz."

The sound of bird calls made Gertrude look up. She sighed slightly as a troupe of brightly colored birds came in to land. The brightest fanned her long tail as she landed.  
"Hey Gertrude!" the brightest bird called before Gertrude had a chance to vanish into the bushes.  
Gertrude sighed softly.  
The colorful bird tsked slightly, "Poor little Gertrude, a sorry sight." She fluffed her feathers, "Well, I'm gonna take you under my wing and baby, you'll be alright!"

"I was just a plain little bird like you kid," the bird sang, "One pathetic feather was all I grew. I had nothing show off-ish. What's a plain bird to do?" She looked Gertrude over, "And there's certainly nothing show off-ish on you kid."  
Gertrude rolled her eyes, "Thank you Mayzie," she said, heavily sarcastic. If all that Mayzie was going to do was show off her own tail, she wasn't interested.  
"Then I made a plan for my self-improvement," Mayzie continued, oblivious to the sarcasm, "No more crumbs, I vowed I would have the cake! So I went to the doctor - doctor Dake by the lake - and he told me what sort of a pill I should take."  
Gertrude blinked.  
"Now I'm amayzing Mayzie," the bird twirled, "As feathered as feathered can be now. Amayzing Mayzie - it was all for sale!"  
Now she had Gertrude's interest. If Mayzie had had a little help in growing her tail, then maybe... maybe... The little blue bird took a closer look at Mayzie's feathers.  
"Amayzing Mayzie!" all the birds twittered.  
"The birds are all whistlin' at me now: Amazying Mayzie," she sang, "Baby that's my tail!"

High or low - Mayzie strutted about, collecting an audience of other birds.  
"Gee it's fabulous," Gertrude thought, despite herself as she watched Mayzie go, "Gee I'm envious."  
Mayzie flew to and fro, showing off her fabulous tail.  
"I wish I had one like it," Gertrude muttered jealously.  
The colorful bird seemed to have forgotten about Gertrude as she darted left and right.  
"Best I've ever seen..." Gertrude grumbled. Even she had to admit it. Mayzie looked perfect, day or night.  
Mayzie seemed to notice Gertrude again, "Kid - you're turnin' green." She commented.  
Gertrude flushed slightly. It was that obvious?  
"What a sight," the birds in the trees sang, "Mayzie's fabulous tail!"

Mayzie suddenly seemed to remember what she was there for and she looked back to Gertrude, "Get the pills, and you can have frills for all of the world to see!" She grinned, seeing that Gertrude was hanging on her every word, "And you can be amayzing - " She stopped and looked the little bird over. Well... even Dr. Dake needed *something* to start with. "Well almost..." she added quietly and then fanned her wings, "As amayzing as me!"

With that Mayzie flew off, making sure to show off her tail to everybody in the immediate area.  
Aribelle ducked to avoid getting a mouthful of feathers.

She pushed her green hair out of her eyes. First an elephant hearing things and now the most vain and self-centered bird in the Jungle of Nool trying to help one of the plainest? Things were not adding up.

Like Aribelle, Gertrude was a bit surprised by Mayzie's sudden helpfulness. Still, if it worked... She made up her mind.

So she flew to the doctor, the doctor named Dake, who's office was high in a tree by the lake.  
She cried, "Mr. Doctor! Oh please do you know of some kind of pill that will make my tail grow?"  
Dr. Dake wiped his hands on his long white lab coat and looked Gertrude over with an expert eye. He was not a Nool native, and had only recently opened his practice here.  
"Tut tut," said the doctor, "Diese Gespräch ist zu verrückt! Ihre kleine Feder Schwanz ist genau richtig für ihre vogelartig."  
At times like these, it was pretty obvious that Dr. Dake wasn't from around here.

Gertrude looked at him blankly, "Huh?"  
He blinked. Then realized what he had said. "In other words," he said, in his thickly accented voice, "your little tail is just right for your kind of bird."  
Gertrude's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. That was NOT what she wanted to hear.  
Then her eyes narrowed. She hadn't come all this way just to hear that there was no hope for her. One way or another... she was going to get a tail just like Mayzie's - no... Better than Mayzie's!

Gertrude had tantrums. She raised such a din that finally the doctor just had to give in.  
"Alright already!" Dr. Dake held up his hands in surrender.  
He turned back to his assistants, "Bitte schon! Hier mit der Pill-Berry Bush!"  
The doctor muttered softly to himself as a nurse brought out a small bush, covered in pillberries.

Now that was more like it. Gertrude eagerly hopped over to the bush and examined it from all sides. Then she leaned down and took one, swallowing it down. She made a slight face, but if it would help her get her tail... She gulped another one... and another.

For a few minutes, nothing happened, and then she stood up suddenly as she felt something. She turned around, "What was that?" She craned her head, trying to see behind her, "Something's itching me." She saw a flash of color, "What was that? Something's twitching me."  
"What was that?" her eyes widened, "Are those feathers I see?" A grin spread across her face, "I think my tail's beginning!"  
She turned her head back again to see more feathers sprouting from her tail. "Oh my word! This is wonderful!" she grinned at the doctor, "second... third... wow I'm colorful!"  
Gertrude preened, "what a bird I'm to be..." She would be just as colorful as Mayzie, now she'd even be... "Amazying Gertrude!"

The ever watchful gossipers twittered from the tree tops, "Just look at that tail she is sporting - Amazying Gertrude!"  
The no longer plain little bird seemed to glow under the attention. "Thank you doctor Dake!"  
The Doctor just smiled and nodded.  
She really was Amazying Gertrude now.  
"And hopefully I'll impress Horton!" Gertrude exclaimed, then thought better of it. He was an elephant, and Horton never seemed to have noticed Mayzie... but... if Gertrude's tail was bigger then Mayzie's...  
"One more pill will do me good!" Gertrude took another one, "Yes it will! One more, one more, one more pill!"  
The doctor tried to stop her, but Gertrude wasn't having any of that. Soon she'd have the biggest tail...  
"I'll have the biggest tail!" she exclaimed, mid-bites, "The biggest tail of all!"

Dr. Dake took the bush away, "Nien!" he exclaimed, "No more! Or else your tail will become too long!"  
"Too long?" Gertrude scoffed, "That's impossible. The bigger and brighter the better!"  
Dr. Dake shook his head and fled back into his office, locking the door behind.  
Gertrude pouted a bit, but then looked back. She used to have to crane her neck to see, but now she didn't have to look too far back to see bright flashes of color.  
She spread her wings and started home. When she got into the air, she felt a bit funny, a little off balance, but she shrugged it off. It was just the rapid feather growth that was doing it to her.

Back at her nest, Gertrude couldn't help but continue to watch her feathers go.  
"What do you think?" she asked a random animal near by.  
Aribelle looked Gertrude over. "You look different," she said.  
"Don't I look lovely?" Gertrude said, fluffing her feathers.  
"You did before..."  
"Nah," she dismissed that, "I'm not finished yet, but soon I'll be just amazying!"  
"Right," Aribelle said doubtfully.

"Have you seen Horton?" Gertrude asked.  
Aribelle pointed.  
Gertrude looked down to see Horton sitting on the ground, speaking softly to his clover.  
"He hasn't looked up from that thing all day," Aribelle said.  
"Oh he'll notice me," Gertrude said with a smile.

On the one hand, it would be a lot neater if Horton lost interest in the clover and was fascinated with the very visible Gertrude. It would create quite a stir, but not one that was worth Aribelle's professional attention. On the other hand... it wouldn't be nearly as interesting.


	3. Monkey Around

"Monkey Around"

The next day dawned hot and cloudy. Gertrude McFuzz was still in her nest, arranging her feathers. It was difficult for Aribelle to see just how long the tail was with the little bird still in her nest. Horton was still giving his clover his undivided attention.  
So in short, no interesting new developments.  
Aribelle gazed at her paws and then groomed her green hair back. After the interesting past few days, she didn't want to go back to just lazing by the pool. She wanted some action.

Almost in answer to her thought, there was a soft sound next to her in the foliage. Aribelle turned.  
"There's a rustle in the bushes," a soft voice sang, "there's a tremble in the trees..."  
She grinned and padded towards the sound of the voice, following it until she found herself looking into the blue eyes of one of the Wickersham brothers.

"Hear it like a whisper, smell it on a summer breeze," he continued, taking her hand and leading her over to where the other two were gathered - up in a tree.

Aribelle settled down on a branch, watching as the more acrobatic monkeys settled themselves.  
"Something big is getting nearer," the leader told her, "Something big is coming through." He grinned and gave her a wink, "got some monkey business - that's what we intend to do!"

Leaving Aribelle in her hidden, but excellent vantage spot, the lead Wickersham started downwards  
"Come on!" he called to his brothers, "I wanna monkey, monkey around!"  
The other two followed, "Come on!"  
Aribelle grinned, getting comfortable.  
"Ooh we've gotta monkey around!" they sang.

Just then, there was the unmistakable sound of an elephant passing by.  
The Wickershams dropped from the trees to surround the unsuspecting Horton.  
"The Wickershams!" Horton gasped to himself, looking at the trio warily, "Um... hello."

"Well it's bigger than a breadbox," one of the monkeys poked at him.  
"Hey it's wider than a whale," the other agreed.  
"Peanut butter breath," their leader made a face.  
"And scared to death from head to tail!" they circled the poor elephant.

Horton held his clover protectively.  
"So you're still talking to dust?" the leader laughed, "oh that's hot!"  
"A dust speck that's all full of "Whos" who are not!" the second added  
As Horton watched the two, the third leaned in close to the clover, tilting his head.  
"There aren't any Whos!" he called, "Why I don't hear a sound!"

"Come on!" the leader called, sneaking a glance at Aribelle, "We gotta monkey - monkey around!"  
That was apparently some sort of signal, for the third monkey grabbed for the clover. Horton trumpeted in alarm and yanked it back, holding it far out of the third wickersham's reach...

And practically thrust it into the leader's waiting paws.  
Horton grabbed for it, but too late, as the monkey took to the tree and sped off.  
"Hey!" he shouted, "Give that back! STOP!"

Aribelle watched Horton chase the Wickershams around, reaching out with his trunk.  
The monkeys laughed, playing keep-away with Horton's precious clover  
"Give that back!" Horton pleaded.  
The leader of the Wickershams jumped up into Aribelle's tree, perching there as he watched his brothers.  
Horton cornered the one with the clover, but one of the little birds, deciding to get in on the action, took the clover in her beak and flew off, passing it off to another of the Wickershams.

The monkeys ran off, leading Horton out of Aribelle's sight.  
This was too good to miss! She jumped down from the tree and followed them. Horton left a pretty clear trail.  
The noise they were making attracted all of the other Nool residents - all eager to get in on the action.

Up out of the jungle, and into the sky, up over the mountains ten-thousand feet high (Aribelle opted not to follow) , then down from the mountain (right back past Aribelle) and into the news, went Horton the elephant, chasing the Whos.

Aribelle smirked slightly as they all rushed past. Horton still hadn't given up, running as best he could after the much faster Wickershams.  
She took to a tree again to see better as they hurried off again.

Then over the desert - the Desert of Dreeze, and into the forest with thousands of trees, past Sneeches on beaches and sour kangaroos went Horton the elephant chasing the Whos.

As she watched them run past her again, Aribelle couldn't help but wonder if Horton realized that the Wickersham brothers were leading him in circles.  
The leader dropped down from the tree in front of Horton. "Still chasing your dust?" he teased, waving it just within Horton's reach before tossing it to his brother, "Why it's safe as can be"  
"We're monkeys to trust," the second said, twirling the clover in his fingers, "Or well don't you agree?"  
Aribelle smirked slightly at that. She adored the Wickershams, but wouldn't exactly call them trustworthy.  
The third monkey took the clover, "well just to be sure, we are handing it off..."  
He held his paw high up in the air.  
The way the other two monkeys were looking upwards made Aribelle raise her eyes skyward as well. She saw a dark shadow, rapidly growing closer.  
It grew larger until she could make out the form of a large black bird.

The monkeys all gathered together, "To a black-bottomed eagle named..."  
With perfect timing, the eagle swooped down and plucked the clover from the Wickersham's outstretched paws.  
"Vlad Valadakoff!" the eagle laughed, beating his great wings and launching himself higher into the air.

Aribelle settled down. There was no way that Horton could keep up with an eagle. This had to end now.  
"No!" Horton shouted, "Stop! Wait!" He chased after.

All that late afternoon and far into the night, that black bottomed bird flapped his wings in fast flight, and he paid no attention to Horton's loud call.  
"A person's a person no matter how small!"

On Horton traveled and on that bird flew. That black bottomed eagle was cruel as could be.  
At six fifty-six, Vlad Vladakoff dropped it. The clover went tumbling and nobody stopped it.

"that bird let the clover drop somewhere inside of a whole patch of clover - one hundred miles wide!" the lead Wickersham reported to Aribelle.  
She laughed at that. "Good!" she said, "That will be the end of this nonsense!"  
Here, the monkey paused, "Well... that's not quite true... Horton did follow him."  
"But when he saw all the clovers, he gave up right?" Aribelle asked, and then smiled, "Oh I wish I could have seen it."  
"Horton is... still there."  
Aribelle blinked, "You mean he picked up a new clover and started over?"  
"No..." he said slowly, "He's... looking for the old one."  
She blinked again, "You're kidding."

Aribelle had to see this for herself. She made her way over towards the gigantic clover patch  
Sure enough, Horton was sitting on the edge of the patch, next to a small pile of clovers.  
As Aribelle watched, he picked one up and called "Are you there?" then lifted it to his ear to listen.  
She shook her head. Insane. Horton had to be insane.  
Still... she wondered just how long it would take until he gave up.

Aribelle was just getting bored with watching Horton when she saw someone approaching. She shaded her eyes and blinked, trying to figure out who this new bird was.  
Aribelle had never seen a bird with that many feathers before.  
No... wait... could it be? Could that really be plain little Gertrude McFuzz?

It certainly was. Gertrude walked carefully along the ground, occasionally picking up part of her long tail as it got tangled.  
She neared Horton and took a deep breath. It was now or never. Gertrude was the most beautiful bird in all of the jungle - Horton just *had* to notice her now!

"It's taken all my courage to approach you - not to mention all my stamina to follow you across the hills and deserts, but I feel as if I'm ready to express to you the feels that I've hidden with great diligence and labor," the words all tumbled out in a rush, "Behind the facade of your odd little next door neighbor."  
Gertrude came a bit closer, "My eyes are too small," she admitted, "I have very large feet... and I'm not very fond of my pitiful tweet." She made a face and took a breath, "Tweet" she sang out, sounding a little better.  
She twirled for Horton, showing off her tail, "But I've now got a tail which is something to see..."

Horton did not look up, tossing another clover aside, "One hundred and two..." he picked up another and listened, then tossed it aside, "One hundred and three"

Gertrude sighed and moved around in front of him, draping her tail gracefully across his path, "Oh notice me Horton! Feather by feather, this is your next door neighbor calling!" she sang, "Notice me Horton!" she leaned down in front of him, "Horton together, we could be great!"  
He still didn't look up and she huffed, moving closer to him, and draping her tail across him, "Oh notice me Horton - put down the clover!" she called, "This is your next door neighbor calling! There's a new leaf your neighbor's turned over..."  
"Over and over," Horton sang to himself, "Clover by clover"

Gertrude gazed down at Horton longingly. Horton gazed down at the clover patch longingly.  
"I was just a no one only yesterday - you showed up and showed me something more. Now I've become a someone who has someone to believe in and to be there for."

Gertrude sighed sadly, and then a look of determination crossed her face. "I will not give up hope," she decided, "I was hooked from the start - when I noticed your kind and your powerful heart!"  
She moved in closer to him, "So notice me Horton!"

"Oh the world would be something new," Horton said, gently picking another clover.  
"Notice me Horton!" Gertrude pleaded, going closer.  
"If they noticed a thing or two..." he continued  
"Notice me Horton..." she sang softly, swishing her tail in front of him.  
Horton reached out and got a hand ful of feathers. Gertrude gasped and waited for him to look up at her.  
He simply moved her tail out of the way.  
Her face fell about a mile.  
"The way I notice you..." Horton and Gertrude sang sadly.

Gertrude sighed and flopped down in front of him to wait for him to notice her.  
He didn't.  
Time passed and she flapped her wings, landing on her back, waiting for him to notice.  
He didn't.  
More time passed, Gertrude dozed, stretching out full length on his back, draping his tail across his head, waiting for him to notice.  
He didn't.

Finally, she gave up and trudged off sadly, trying to think of something else.

Aribelle dozed in her spot in the tree, growing bored with watching Gertrude attempting to be noticed. It was amusing at first, but as it dragged on, like Gertrude she was going to give up.  
Through half closed eyes she watched Gertrude leave, her tail dragging on the ground behind her.  
Aribelle closed her eyes again, the sound of Horton's counting lulling her to sleep.

When she woke up, she rubbed her eyes and stretched. Horton was still there. Had he been awake searching all night?  
"Two million nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine..." Horton counted wearily.  
Aribelle smirked slightly. Apparently he had been.  
Horton threw down the clover and looked at all of the others in the patch, then sighed, "Oh it's hopeless..."

"You said it kid."  
Both Horton and Aribelle's heads whipped towards the sound of the voice.  
Aribelle's sharp eyes spotted the feathered form of Mayze la Bird, perched on a tree... in a nest?  
"Who said that?" Horton called, looking around, "Who's there?"  
"It's me Mayze!" she called, waving a wing at Horton, "Up here!"  
Horton got to his feet and lumbered over to the base of the tree, looking up. "Mayze?"  
She smiled down at him and nodded.  
He blinked, "Mayze... are you on a nest?"  
Mayze's smile vanished, "Yeah - ya wanna make somethin' of it?" she snapped.  
"No!" Horton replied quickly, "I just... never thought I'd see you on a nest"  
That makes two of us, thought Aribelle somewhat amused. She added Mayze settling down to the list of odd things that were happening this week.

"Neither did I Hort," Mayze replied with a sigh, "Neither did I."  
She ruffled her feathers and resettled herself. "I was down in Fort Worth - just a girl on the wing when I met Tweet McFurth," she sighed happily, "Oh could that night owl sing!" She preened herself dreamily, "Tell yourself how lucky you are..."  
She spread her wings and glided down, "It was three weeks of bliss, then the usual segue - he flew off to San Juan, leaving me with this egg!"  
Mayze pointed up at the red and white egg perched in her nest and then sighed, "Now I'm bored and I'm cranky and tired, sitting day after day." She fluffed her feathers, "Who knew so much work was required? I'd much rather play... I need a vacation, I'm due for some rest..."  
As Aribelle watched, an odd look flitted across Mayze's eyes, and then she turned on her charm.  
"Hey Horton, would ya maybe like to sit on my nest?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

He blinked and gaped at her, then took a step back away from her, "Why Mayze... I couldn't... of all silly things! Why... I haven't got feathers, I haven't got wings..."  
He shook his head firmly, "And not only that, but I'm here on a search, I just couldn't leave my poor Who's in a lurch."  
Mayze dismissed that with a flick of her wing. "I won't be gone long kid - I give you my word!" She gave him a charming smile and set a hand on his shoulder, "I'll hurry right 'cuz I'm that sort of a bird."  
He sighed, and shrugged off her touch.  
"Oh Horton, I promise I'll fly back real soon," she begged, "I'll only be gone for say... one afternoon."  
"Well..." he wavered, "we all need vacations..." The elephant sighed, "Alright... go on... take it. I'll sit on your egg and I'll try not to break it."  
A huge smile spread across Mayze's face.  
"But please come back quickly," Horton added, "One hour, maybe two. I've got to find Jojo, I've got to save Who!"  
"Thanks a million!" Mayze exclaimed, taking to the sky.  
In a matter of minutes, she was gone.

Aribelle shook her head. That Mayze... She almost felt sorry for the poor little egg. And Horton? Elephants certainly did not sit on eggs.  
Mayze would not be back. Aribelle knew that. Everybody knew that. Horton really wasn't the brightest animal in the jungle.

So carefully, tenderly, gently Horton crept up the trunk to the nest where the little egg slept.  
Then Horton the elephant sighed, "Well that's that."  
And he sat.  
And he sat  
and he sat  
and he sat.

Aribelle fell asleep watching him sit there.  
The cold wind woke her several hours later. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, looking around. The sun was setting, but ominous looking dark clouds were rolling in.  
Horton was still sitting there, a dark shape huddled against the cold.  
She jumped down from the tree and headed off home, hoping that Horton would have the sense to do the same.


	4. Egg, Nest and Tree

"Egg, nest and tree"

Aribelle didn't go to check on Horton every day, for one thing it was getting boring. But she did have other things she needed to do.  
But one of the gossiping birds always came to report if she had seen Horton sitting there.  
Near as Aribelle could tell, Horton hadn't left the nest.

She spotted Gertrude McFuzz, her long tail wound around her like a scarf, heading over towards the nest.  
Curious, she followed her.  
Gertrude hopped up to a tree branch near Horton. "Horton," she said, "I brought you a scarf." She draped it around his neck.  
"Thank you Gertrude," he said, "Have you heard from Mayze?"  
"She sent a card from Palm Beach..." Gertrude started.  
"Palm Beach?" he exclaimed, "Gertrude - what if she never comes back?"  
"Don't worry," she tried to assure him, "She will."  
He sighed softly  
"Umm... Horton?" she unwound her tail and flicked it about, "Notice anything... different?"  
He looked to her and then nodded.  
She seemed to light up.  
He sighed, "it's getting colder."  
Gertrude looked crushed, and hopped down to the ground, her beautiful tail dragging along in the dirt behind her.

Aribelle felt sorry for her and she bounded up to her, "Hey Gertrude," she called.  
The little bird turned around to see Aribelle.  
She gave Gertrude a smile, "your tail is looking lovely these days."  
"Thanks..." she said quietly, although her heart wasn't really in it.

When winter set in, Aribelle relied more on the reports of the gossipers that Horton was still sitting on the nest.  
Gertrude had brought him blankets to keep him warm, and based on dejected look she always wore, Aribelle guessed that Horton still hadn't really noticed Gertrude's tail.

One mild day near the middle of winter, Aribelle decided to accompany Gertrude on her trip to visit Horton. She was going to insist that Horton stop this foolishness once and for all.  
Mayze was not coming back, so there was no reason for him to stay there. They could take the egg somewhere else. Aribelle had spoken with some of her informants and most of the birds agreed that Mayze lost all rights to her egg.

As they neared the spot, suddenly Aribelle froze, putting a paw on Gertrude's wing to stop her.  
"Wait," she hissed, pulling Gertrude back behind another tree, "Something is wrong..."  
She blinked and looked to Aribelle, "Wrong?"

Up on the nest, Horton was sensing it as well, he looked around. From the top of the tree he had a better view point than Aribelle.  
"Oh no!" he gasped, "Hunters!"

Hunters? Instinct took over and Aribelle took to the one place she felt safe - the trees. She blended right in.  
Horton, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. The hunters surrounded him.

Gertrude screamed out his name and spread her wings, trying to fly to his rescue, but her tail got tangled in some branches.  
Aribelle, seeing Gertrude's plight, dropped down from the tree and quickly worked to free the little bird.  
But, as she did so, the Hunters threw a net over Horton.  
He clung to the nest. "Shoot if you must," he said bravely, "but I won't run away. No matter what happens I said I would stay!"

After talking briefly, the Hunters decided that an elephant sitting in a tree was good enough to take, egg, nest, tree and all.  
Aribelle had to practically hold Gertrude back to keep the little bird from getting tangled up again.  
"They're taking him!" she wailed, "I have to help him!"  
"Just hold still a moment," Aribelle ordered, finishing freeing the little bird from the branches. She twisted Gertrude's tail together so it wouldn't get tangled again.  
"Alright," she said, "Go."  
Gertrude moved away from the trees, spread her wings and took off. She only got a few feet in the air before the weight of her tail brought her crashing down to the ground.  
After repeating this experiment twice, Gertrude flopped down on the ground and burst into tears.  
Aribelle's heart went out to the poor bird and she went over by her.

"How long have you not been able to fly?" Aribelle asked gently.  
"Since... since fall..." Gertrude replied tearfully.  
Aribelle shook her head slightly. "Gertrude, your tail is beautiful, but..."  
"But it's too long," Gertrude finished with a sob, "And he didn't even notice!"  
"You know what you have to do," Aribelle said gently.

With Aribelle's help, Gertrude got to her feet and made her way back. She could move much faster with Aribelle helping to carry her tail.  
As they made their way along, Aribelle sent some of her bird agents off to keep an eye on Horton.

From the various reports of her agents, Aribelle was able to piece together what happened:

Up out of the jungle, up into the sky, up over the mountains ten-thousand feet high, then down from the mountains and down to the sea - went Horton the elephant - egg nest and tree!  
They loaded the wagon right onto a ship, out over the ocean, and ooh what a trip. Rolling and tossing and sick as can be - just a seasick elephant, egg nest and tree.  
After bobbing around for two weeks like a cork they landed at last in the town of New York. He was wet, he was tired, and hungry and cold.  
Then Horton was taken to action...  
And sold to the man from the circus, egg nest and tree.

Gertrude McFuzz was devastated at the news. For weeks she stayed huddled in her nest, occasionally looking forlornly over at Horton's abandoned house and only leaving to eat.  
Once and awhile Aribelle came to check on her. Not 'officially' of course, for Gertrude had done nothing wrong. But the little bird needed a friend.

When spring came, Gertrude asked Aribelle to help her to manage her tail again.  
"I want to go visit Dr. Dake by the lake," she said.  
Aribelle blinked, but agreed to help her.

They got to the Doctor's office and Dr. Dake came out to see her.  
"My tail has been a mistake!" she exclaimed, "Dr. Dake, I've been foolish and vain!"  
He looked to her and nodded slowly, but refrained from saying "I told you so"  
Gertrude took a deep breath, "Pluck it out."  
Aribelle blinked and then smiled.  
"Get it off!" Gertrude told the Doctor, "I won't do it again!"

The Doctor put on a pair of gloves and got some tools, then told Gertrude to brace herself against the table.  
And then, he went to work, pulling her tail out, a few feathers at a time.  
"Ouch!" Gertrude yelped, biting her lip. It hurt a lot, especially when the doctor hit a tender spot.  
But he did the best he could, pulling out all of the brightly colored feathers. If Gertrude was ever to become as good of a flier as she used to be, there was only one thing he could do.  
After what seemed like forever he was done. Gertrude stepped out of the pile of feathers, shaking the flew loose ones free.  
It felt much lighter.  
She craned her head back to look, and sighed slightly, "Just a One-Feathered tail."

Then her eyes narrowed and took on a determined glint. Without another word, she spread her wings and took to the sky.  
She was a little awkward at first, because she'd been grounded for so long, but her wings quickly remembered what to do.

Aribelle watched the little bird sail through the sky. Gertrude would be alright now.  
Just to be on the safe side, she kept an eye on her for the next week.  
The little blue bird hummed to herself as she cleaned out her nest, tossing out the old dried grass and lining her nest with soft clovers.

And then, one day, seven weeks later, Gertrude was gone. Just like that.

Aribelle didn't worry too much about her at first. Her thoughts had gone back to Horton. If he was being paraded around all over the place, why, then everyone would think that all of the citizens of the jungle of Nool were just as crazy, and therefore, entertaining.  
She couldn't have that.

So she called together her most trusted agents, the Sour Kangaroo and the Wickersham brothers.  
Her bird agents told her where Horton was.  
"I need all of you to find him and bring him back here," Aribelle ordered.  
The leader of the Wickershams gave her a salute and a wink from his bright blue eyes. "We'll get him."


	5. The People vs Horton the Elephant

"The People vs Horton the Elephant"

The Wickershams worked fast, after a remarkably short period of time, they returned with Horton... egg, nest, tree and clover. That wasn't surprising, but what was surprising was that Gertrude was with them.  
Aribelle raised a brow at that. It seemed he had found a new clover that had tiny invisible people living on it. That just cemented her opinion that something just had to be done about Horton. As soon as she received the message via black bottomed eagle that the Wickershams and Horton were on the way back she organized the citizens of the jungle of Nool.

Once Horton set foot in the jungle (relatively speaking), he was rushed off to the meeting place to appear before a judge. (And a substantial audience as well)  
Aribelle quickly claimed a comfortable tree branch to watch the action.

A rather frightened looking Horton, accompanied by an angry looking Gertrude stood waiting.

"This is the case of the people versus Horton the elephant," the bailiff announced, "Judge Yertle the Turtle presiding, everyone rise!"  
The turtle, in his official robes, looked over the courtroom and rapped his gavel. "Order! Order! Order in the court!"  
The crowd of animals fell reasonably quiet as the bailiff read the charges that Aribelle had given him a few moments earlier, "The defendant is charged with talking to a speck, disturbing the peace and loitering on an egg."  
"Your honor, this clover is Exhibit A," Horton held it out to show the judge. Yertle leaned in to examine the clover and the speck of dust.  
"They're Whos here, there are Whos here, smaller than the eyes can see," Horton said, "It's true sir, there are Whos here, he's a Who and so is She."  
"Biggest blame fool in the jungle of Nool," the murmur went through the crowd.  
"Order! Order!" Yertle banged his gavel again, "Order in the court!"

"Call to the stand the star witness versus Horton the elephant," the bailiff called the Sour Kangaroo to the stand.  
She sauntered up to take her position, with her little one in her pouch as always.  
"Raise your right hand and swear," the bailiff directed.  
She did so, glancing over at Horton, "I swear..." she started slowly, then turned to the rest of the animals, "That he's the biggest blame fool in the jungle of Nool as I testified long ago! Biggest blame fool, just a fool, fool, fool!" She turned back to the judge, "And a mother like me should know."  
The Sour Kangaroo looked Horton over critically, "Judging him trunk to toe you'd better think - "  
"Think!" the bird girls echoed  
"Oh please throw him in the clink!"

The trial went on, with the bird girls testifying about how they saw him talking to a speck and the wickershams testifying about how he was sitting on an egg.  
Gertrude tried to raise an objection, but the rest of the animals over ruled her.  
The noise grew unbearably loud until a deafening trumpet sound broke through.  
All startled eyes turned to Horton, the frustrated elephant.  
"I meant what I said and I said what I meant," Horton exclaimed, "An elephant's faithful, one hundred percent. You can throw me in jail or lock me up in a zoo, but I won't desert my egg and I will not abandon Who!"  
Gertrude nodded firmly in agreement with Horton.  
The elephant turned to Yertle, "These Whos, sir, win or lose sir, whether you believe or not... They're here, they live in fear and I'm the only friend they've got."  
He looked down at the clover for a moment and then back up to Yertle.  
"You can do what you want with me your honor, and I won't question why," Horton said softly, "But please save Who, the tiniest planet in the sky."

A stunned silence fell across the crowd. Aribelle was astonished by this. Horton really was insane...  
Yertle cleared his throat. "Based on the evidence I have no choice but to order the defendant Horton the elephant remanded to the Nool Asylum for the Criminally Insane."  
Horton hung his head and Gertrude let out a gasp.  
Aribelle nodded. Finally this would be the end of it.

"And as for the dust speck!" he continued  
"As for the dust speck?" the bird girls asked.  
"And as for the dust speck!" the bailiff repeated.  
"That dust speck!" the animals all chorused  
"That we will boil, boil, boil, boil, boil in a hot steaming kettle of beezlenut oil!" Yertle and the bailiff declared together.  
The Wickershams darted off and returned bearing a pole.  
"Boil it!?" Horton exclaimed, his eyes growing huge at the sight of the steaming kettle dangling from the pole the Wickershams held, "No! That you can't do! It's all full of persons - they'll prove it to you!"  
Aribelle shook her head as Horton started addressing the clover. Getting rid of that speck of dust would be the best thing for Horton.  
"Boil it! Boil it! Boil it!" the animals were excited.  
Horton and Gertrude tried to keep the clover out of the grasp of the Wickershams. Aribelle was about to slip down from her branch when all of a sudden...

"YOOOOOOOPPPPPPP!"

Dead silence fell.

That sound... had come from the clover.

Horton looked around at everyone. "Do you hear what I hear? Do you see what I mean?" a grin spread across his face, "They've made themselves heard... though they still can't be seen."  
"They've proved they are persons, no matter how small," Gertrude smiled happily  
Horton gave the little bird a smile. She had never doubted him... "And their whole world was saved by the smallest of all."  
Aribelle blinked, watching the two of them. Something must have happened while the two of them were gone... Horton certainly noticed Gertrude now.

"How true, yes how true," said the Sour Kangaroo, "And from now on, you know what I'm going to do?"  
Gertrude and Horton moved protectively in front of the clover.  
"From now on, I'm going to protect them with you!" she put her arms around the two of them.  
And the young kangaroo in her pouch said, "Me too!"

Aribelle and the Wickershams exchanged glances and she gave a faint nod. Even she could admit when she had been wrong.

Suddenly Horton gasped and looked down. "Oh no! The egg! It's hatching!"  
Everyone gathered around as the speckled egg started to twitch and shake. A crack spread down the side of it and a rather peculiar creature tumbled out. It was mostly gray, with a trunk and big floppy ears and... wings.  
A gasp ran through the animals, "An elephant bird!"  
Horton stared at the baby, "Why... it looks just like me... except for the wings."  
At the sound of a familiar voice, the baby looked up at Horton, opened her mouth, and chirped.  
"And except for the voice, cuz that's how a bird sings," Gertrude said.

"Oh Gertrude..." Horton looked to her, "What'll I do? I'm slow and I'm fat... all I know is the earth, and she'll need much more than that."  
"I have wings..." Gertrude said softly, "Yes I can fly..." She took Horton's trunk, "You teach her earth and I will teach her sky..."  
"Just call my name..." he said softly.  
"And I'll see you though..." she finished.  
"One small voice in the universe..." Horton murmured  
"One true friend in the universe," she told him.  
"Who believes in you..."

An invisible world, not-crazy elephant, a bird with a one-feathered-tail and an elephant-bird; Aribelle shook her head as she slipped off into the bushes as the sun set, turning the sky a faint pink color. Who could have ever thought of this sort of think?

The End


End file.
